Mr. Speaker, at the outset, I want to compliment the hon. member for Peterborough who has worked so very tirelessly advocating on behalf of an infrastructure program in Canada. Certainly his success in bringing in infrastructure programs for the benefit of his community is evidence of their importance to all Canadians.
The infrastructure Canada program was announced in the Speech from the Throne last fall. The Minister of Finance also allocated $2.65 billion to the program in his February budget, with a pledge to have the program in place by the end of the year.
As the member pointed out, we now have agreements in eight jurisdictions. Agreements signed to date represent a total federal investment of some $740 million. Combined with the contributions of our partners in other orders of government, the total investment climbs to $2.2 billion.
This infrastructure program was designed in consultation with groups like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and with the provinces and territories which established the priorities. The majority of the projects will be submitted by the municipalities themselves. As the member for Peterborough has indicated, it has turned out to be a very successful approach to infrastructure programming.
The first priority is green municipal infrastructure, such as water and waste management treatment and solid waste management. Secondary priorities include: local transportation; infrastructure supporting culture, tourism and recreation; rural and remote telecommunications; high speed Internet access for local institutions; and affordable housing.
Negotiations between the Government of Canada and the remaining provinces, particularly Ontario, are continuing. We are very hopeful that we will reach agreements soon with all the remaining jurisdictions and, indeed, have them in place before the end of the year.